Z Nation Canceled on Syfy After 5 Seasons

Z Nation might not be the most famous zombie television show out there, but it's not without its fans. Airing on the Syfy network, the show has been around for five seasons now, with the season 5 finale set to air just next week. Unfortunately, that episode will now serve as the series finale for the show as well, as Syfy has decided not to renew Z Nation for season 6. The news comes courtesy of executive producer David Michael Latt, who explained the show's status to fans in a live video posted on social media. While happy to have been given the opportunity, it's clear Latt and everyone else involved are just as saddened by the decision as the show's biggest fans.

"We were not renewed for a season 6. We're stopping at season 5. We're very sad. We're also really grateful with the opportunities that we had. This is not the end of anything. This is just the beginning of a lot of things. We had a great time. We had a great time with Syfy."

Z Nation might be ending, but some of the creative minds behind it will continue to bring new stories of zombie fiction. It's also announced in the video that the show's co-creator Karl Schaefer is bringing us a new zombie series, along with co-executive producer John Hyams. Called Black Summer, the series will be available for streaming on netflix in Spring 2019. It is considered to be a companion prequel series to Z Nation, taking place during the "Black Summer" referred to in the show as the time when the plague took over the world. While set in the same universe, the show won't feature any characters from Z Nation, instead focusing on Jaime King as a mother in search of her daughter during the midst of a zombie outbreak.

First airing on Syfy in 2014, Z Nation was a surprise hit for the network. Completely outlandish and yet fun to watch, the show became an interesting alternative to The Walking Dead. Although it was met with heavy criticism at the time of its premiere, the show would go on to be given five full seasons on the network. The series certainly had a charm to it with its charismatic characters and intriguing locations. Five seasons can still be considered a great run, and it may be comforting for fans to know the universe will continue to expand in at least one companion series on Netflix.

Z Nation joins its inspiration The Walking Dead as a zombie show that's losing momentum with TV viewership. While The Walking Dead was once able to top 17 million viewers on more than one occasion, its latest episode was sitting at 5.1 million. If ratings continue to fall for the AMC show, it could be meeting the same fate as Z Nation before long. Still, AMC has made it clear they wish to keep the Walking Dead universe growing with new companion shows, which is what Z Nation will be doing with Black Summer.

The season 5 finale of Z Nation is appropriately titled, "The End of Everything." It will air on the Syfy network on Friday, Dec. 28. You can take a look at the announcement of the show's demise in the tweet below courtesy of David Last.